STATEMENT: Hinojosa on Data Center Companies Supporting Abbott’s Data Center Plan

Austin, TX – Today, Democratic nominee for Texas Governor Gina Hinojosa released the following statement on data center companies praising Greg Abbott’s data center plan:

“Greg Abbott expects Texans to be thankful to the data center corporations that are profiting off of our taxpayer dollars. He invited data centers into Texas, has taken millions of dollars in donations from their CEOs, and is now desperately seeking their help to save his own political career. Guidelines from the governor aren’t laws, they won’t protect Texans, and that’s exactly how Abbott’s donors like it. What happens when these companies don’t comply? What happens on November 4th?

“We need a moratorium on data centers until the legislature can meet to put in place real protections so Texans can have a seat at the table to decide if and how data centers come into their communities. When the companies being regulated are cheering for the rules, you know the rules were written for them, not for Texans.”

This is the same governor who spent recent months branding Texas the “epicenter” of AI development and championing the industry his giveaway attracted. Several of his most generous financial backers are increasingly invested in the same data center boom. Recent contributions in Abbott’s latest campaign finance report include:

  • Ed Roski, Jr. — $1 million in April. His firm, Majestic Realty, leases Texas warehouses to Google, which is investing billions in Texas data centers.
  • Kelcy Warren — $500,000 in June. His company, Energy Transfer, recently rolled out a series of deals to supply natural gas to data centers across the state.
  • Rhett Bennett — $500,000. Bennett’s company, Black Mountain, builds data centers across Texas.
  • Elon Musk — $500,000 in May. Musk is pushing to send data centers to space.
  • Mackie McCrea, Energy Transfer co-CEO — $100,000 in June.
  • Harlan Crow — $250,000 in April. Crow Holdings announced a January deal to build a new Dallas data center.
  • Ray Lee Hunt — $125,000 in June. Hunt Energy launched a data center power partnership with Caterpillar.